So the pope has shot down the hypothesis almost thought to be a certainty that he would not reappoint Mons Guido - but Andrea Tornielli tells us he did do so three months ago (more or less around the time his second five-year term ended), just that we weren't told, obviously. Brownie points for Bergoglio on this.
Marini now performs the function once played by Mueller in the Curia - the token conservative Bergoglio can pass off as his bona fides if anyone should question his orthodoxy (liturgical in the case of Guido, doctrinal in the case of Mueller). He can't use Cardinal Sarah for this purpose because their liturgical differences are too public. Of course, after AL, all bets were off as to Bergoglio's doctrinal orthodoxy, but let's see what his next big step will be in liturgy, since none of his recent moves (Magnum Principium, the 'ecumenical mass' initiative, recent comments about the Novus Ordo) bode well at all...
The Pope confirms Guido Marini as
his Master of Liturgical Ceremonies
Allows him his third five-year mandate since
he was called to the Vatican by Benedict XVI
by Andrea Tornielli
December 22, 2017
The Pope has not changed his Master of Ceremonies for Pontifical Liturgies, and in fact, reconfirmed Mons Guido Marini three months ago for another five years in the position he has held since 2007.
[It is his third five-year term, so someone's pants must be constantly on fire for the facile lie of a single-term policy he told Cardinal Mueller last July and which he has not applied to anyone else.]
In recent weeks,
even though Marini had been already re-confirmed [but never revealed till today], rumours on a possible change had been spreading inside the Vatican.
Actually, the relationship between the Pope and his master of ceremonies remains solid,and Francis quite appreciates the fidelity of Monsignor Marini, who is tasked with overseeing every papal liturgical celebration: both those that take place in the Vatican and Rome, and those held abroad.
This will be Marini's third five-year mandate in the Vatican. His predecessors were Monsignor Virgilio Noè (later cardinal), who was liturgical MC for Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II from 1970 to 1982. His successor, the Irish John Magee, formerly special secretary of Popes Montini and Luciani, was master of ceremonies from 1982 to early 1987, when he was nominated Bishop of Cloyne. And finally, Piero Marini, who was liturgical MC from 1987 to 2007, year he was replaced, at the behest of Pope Ratzinger, by the homonymous Guido. Piero was named an archbishop and head of the Pontifical Commission for Eucharistic Congresses.
Born in Genoa on January 31, 1965, Mons Guido Marini attended the seminary in Genoa, where he obtained his diploma in Theology. Ordained a priest on February 4,1989, he obtained his doctorate "in utroque Iure" at the Lateran University in Rome and, in 2007, a B.A in the psychology of communication from the Salesian University.
From 1988 to 2003 he was special Secretary of the Archbishops of Genoa: first Cardinal Giovanni Canestri (until 1995), then Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi (until 2002), and finally Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Marini was also master of liturgical celebrations for Cardinal Tettamanzi and Bertone, and of Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who succeeded Bertone as Archbishop of Genoa.
From 2003 to 2005 he was Director of the Diocesan Office for Education and School, where he taught Catholic religion. In 2005 he was nominated archiepiscopal chancellor of Genoa and served as spiritual director of the seminary.
In Genoa, where he grew up, Marini was called Don "Guidino", because he is tall and thin. In Rome, where he arrived by choice of Benedict XVI, he was esteemed for his kindness, but also for his commitment to put into practice Pope Ratzinger’s liturgical ideas.
Someone had hypothesized that the advent of the new Pontiff would soon lead to a change in the ceremonial office. Instead, Francis has proven to appreciate the collaboration of Marini and decided to keep him at his side.